9 Curiosities and interesting facts about India
How many things do you know about India? Let’s discover some strange facts and curiosities about this great country full of charm and contrasts.
There are 32 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The Taj Mahal is the symbol of India and one of the most famous and admired monuments in the world. In addition to the Taj Mahal, India has 31 other monuments on the UNESCO list. The list includes architectural and natural wonders, including the forts in Rajasthan, the Shimla Mountain Railway, the Nilgiri Hills, the Western Ghats, the Ajanta and Ellora caves in Maharashtra, the Bangala mangrove forest, and many other parks and nature reserves.
The sites in India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites represent cultural, artistic, and natural wonders and all the best that the country offers.
All of the world’s great religions are in India
Although 80% of the population is Hindu, you will find an endless list of places of worship belonging to the most important religions on the planet in India.
Synagogues and Christian churches are widespread in Kerala and Goa, while in Mumbai, there are the Zoroastrian temples of Parsi and the Tower of Silence. White marble Jain temples are very common in Dehli, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
Sikhism, India’s third most crucial religion, boasts the golden temple in Amritsar, considered one of the country’s most beautiful and spiritual places. The Lotus Temple in Dehli is the most important place of worship for adherents of the Bahá’í religion.
Although Muslims make up only 14% of India’s population, mosques and mausoleums are widespread.
India is the country with the most vegetarians in the world
Although not all Hindus are vegetarians, and not all Indians are Hindus, vegetarianism is an overall lifestyle in India that is part of local traditions and practices.
The extensive and tasty vegetarian menu will be able to satisfy all palates with recipes based on lentils, rice, coconut, curry, and paneer cheese.
Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world
Varanasi is one of the holiest places in India that boasts the record of being a continuously inhabited city for over 3 thousand years. Hindus believe it is even older and was created by Lord Shiva 5 thousand years ago.
It stands at one of the most sacred points of the Ganges River and is considered an ideal place to end one’s earthly life. To die here means to interrupt the cycle of reincarnation of the soul and thus achieve eternal peace.
India is the second most English-speaking country in the world
After the United States, India is the second most English-speaking country globally. English is one of India’s 22 official languages, and Hindi is the language used by the central government. Only 10% of Indians know English, and only a tiny minority know it as their first language, but 10% of a population as huge as India’s is a vast number.
The lottery is legal only in 13 states of India
Anything that involves luck and money together is illegal for the Indian lawmakers, while those considered to be games of skill are legal. That said, casinos and gambling are not illegal throughout the country. They are under the jurisdiction of the state government, and some states like Goa and Sikkim have legalized them. In fact, the lottery is legal in 13 states in India. However, you can play any of the international lotteries online that are offered by platforms like Lottoland in the country, as the draws for these lotteries take place in foreign lands and therefore do not fall under Indian gambling laws.
The Public Gambling Act of 1867 prevents one from operating or owning a public gambling house. Anyone who violates this law will face a penalty of up to three months’ imprisonment or a 200 rupee fine.
However, if you’re looking to play at an online casino in India, go ahead because no law prohibits online betting. As discussed above, the Public Gambling Act of 1867 is too old to cover online betting activities.
In this regard, several online platforms allow you to gamble in India, such as poker or roulette, two of the country’s most popular gambling games.
On asiabet.org, for example, you can find top roulette sites in Indiathat are entirely safe. They all boast licenses from respected authorities, strong security measures, and fair and tested games. If a roulette casino fails to have even one of these things, it won’t make it to this page.
Finally, this platform gives you a wide range of roulette sites. These sites all offer roulette games, but they also provide plenty of other advantages.
Meghalaya is the wettest inhabited place in the world
While the arid deserts of Rajasthan in the West are more famous for their lack of rainfall, the northeastern state of Meghalaya is the rainiest in the world. The village of Mawsynram in the Khasi Hills has an average annual rainfall of 11,873 mm – the yearly average rainfall of the rainiest areas in Italy is between 2,500 and 3,500 mm.
The Asiatic lion is in India only
The Persian lion was formerly widespread throughout the Middle East to India, also known as the Persian lion. Nowadays, it is an endangered species that lives only in Gir National Park in Gujarat. In recent years the population of Asiatic lions has increased, so much so that they have been spotted outside the park and even roaming along the beaches.
India is one of the most multilingual countries in the world
Just because you can communicate well in English doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn a few phrases in the local language. Indians encourage travelers to say a few words in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, or one of the other languages.
Indians are used to hearing various accents that won’t be puzzled if you don’t pronounce the words perfectly or if your grammar isn’t correct. Indians have a trained ear, and every day they are used to hearing different sounds and accents belonging to other languages and dialects. You will meet people who speak Hindi with friends, Bengali with family, and English in the workplace.
